What OSEA does

OSEA International (branded as OSEA Malibu) is a privately held clean beauty company founded in 1996 in Venice, California by mother-daughter duo Jenefer and Melissa Palmer. The company develops and sells a seaweed-powered skincare and body care portfolio built around proprietary marine botanical ingredients — including hand-harvested Undaria Pinnatifida (Undaria Algae™), Bladderwrack, Gigartina, and Japanese Miru seaweed — combined with active plant-derived ingredients such as bio-retinol from green microalgae and five-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid. The product range spans body oils, body lotions and butters, facial cleansers, serums, moisturizers, masks, eye and lip care, mineral sunscreen (Marine Screen SPF 50, launched April 2026), and a wellness collection (Vagus Nerve line); hero SKUs are supported by third-party clinical studies reporting 88–100% consumer perception efficacy claims.

OSEA generates revenue through a multi-channel architecture: direct-to-consumer e-commerce on its Shopify storefront (oseamalibu.com), a Subscribe & Save subscription program spanning 25+ SKUs at a 10% recurring discount, retail distribution through Ulta Beauty (US and Mexico via Grupo Axo as of 2025), wholesale and spa/resort partners (including Benchmark Resorts & Hotels), corporate gifting, gift cards, and a company-owned Venice Skincare Studio offering signature treatments. The company was bootstrapped and profitable from 1996 until receiving its first external investment from CAVU Venture Partners in June 2021; in September 2025, CAVU exited when General Atlantic made a strategic growth investment to fund international expansion and product innovation. Founders retained a significant ownership stake, and in November 2025 Erika Kussmann was appointed CEO. OSEA is certified vegan (PETA), cruelty-free (Leaping Bunny), and holds the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance on multiple products; the company has received Allure Best of Beauty awards in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 across different SKUs.

The business serves clean beauty consumers and the mature/sensitive-skin segments primarily through consumer retail (pricing from ~$12 travel-size to ~$108 premium creams), with a customer base that skews female, 25–55, and is sustainability-oriented. OSEA generates over $100 million in annual sales as of 2025, with 98% concentrated in North America — the explicit expansion focus for the General Atlantic capital. Headcount is in the 11–50 range, and the company operates with a lean organizational structure supplemented by external brand, retail, and event partners (e.g., Pop Up Mob for booth production at Ulta Beauty World 2026).

Name

OSEA

Legal name

OSEA International

Website

https://oseamalibu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OSEA Malibu is a Venice, California-based clean beauty brand founded in 1996 that sells seaweed-powered skincare, body care, and wellness products direct-to-consumer, through Ulta Beauty and spa/resort partners, generating over $100M in annual sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Vegan Skincare

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils) (CRADANAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spa Body Treatments & Massage (Oils, Scrubs, Wraps) (CRABALAG), Professional Skincare & Facial Treatments (CRABALAF)

Keywords

• Clean beauty skincare
• Vegan skincare products
• Seaweed-based skincare
• Natural body care
• Anti-aging skincare

Headquarters

HQ city

Venice

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce: OSEA sells directly to consumers through its e-commerce website (oseamalibu.com), offering individual products, curated sets, and subscription options. The brand generated over $100 million in annual sales as of 2025 (per General Atlantic investment coverage).
2. Subscription (Subscribe & Save): Customers can subscribe to recurring delivery of eligible products (25+ products including hero items like Undaria Algae Body Oil, Hyaluronic Sea Serum, Dream Night Cream). Subscribers receive 10% off every order, free shipping, early access to new products, and exclusive deluxe samples. Managed through the OSEA account platform with skip/cancel/edit flexibility.
3. Wholesale / Retail Distribution: OSEA distributes through retail channel partners including Ulta Beauty (US), Ulta Beauty Mexico (via Grupo Axo), and a network of spa and resort partners such as Benchmark Resorts & Hotels. Retail partnerships drive incremental revenue through third-party retail channels.
4. Venice Skincare Studio (In-Person Services): OSEA operates a physical Skincare Studio at Abbot Kinney in Venice, California, offering signature OSEA spa treatments and facials. Also features a recycling program where customers can return empty products for store credits.
5. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold in denominations of $25 to $500 for use at oseamalibu.com, plus separate gift cards for the Venice Skincare Studio.
6. Corporate Gifting / B2B: OSEA offers corporate gifting programs for business customers, available through inquiry on the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OSEA Malibu develops, manufactures, and sells a vegan, cruelty-free, seaweed-powered skincare and body care portfolio — including body oils, body lotions and washes, cleansers, serums, moisturizers, masks, eye and lip care, mineral SPF, and the Vagus Nerve wellness collection — sold direct-to-consumer through oseamalibu.com with subscription and loyalty programs, through retail partners such as Ulta Beauty US and Mexico (Grupo Axo), and through spa/resort wholesale accounts and the Venice Skincare Studio.

Product overview

OSEA is a clean beauty brand founded in 1996 that offers a unified portfolio of seaweed-powered skincare and body care products. The product line centers around Undaria Algae™ as a key ingredient across multiple formulations including body oils (Undaria Algae™ Body Oil), body lotions, body butters, and body washes in the Undaria Body Collection. Face care offerings include moisturizers like Seabiotic® Water Cream, Advanced Protection Cream, and Atmosphere Protection® Cream; serums such as Hyaluronic Sea Serum, Dream Night Serum with Bio-Retinol, and Ocean Eyes® Age-Defying Eye Serum; and cleansers including Ocean Cleanser, Ocean Cleansing Milk, and Ocean Cleansing Mudd. The brand also offers specialized collections like the Vagus Nerve Collection for wellness, subscription services through Subscribe & Save, and a Sea Rewards loyalty program. Products span categories across cleansers, exfoliators, moisturizers, serums, masks, eye care, body care, and accessories—all formulated with seaweed and botanical actives and certified vegan and cruelty-free by PETA and Leaping Bunny.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undaria Algae™ Body Oil Seaweed-infused body oil clinically shown to visibly improve elasticity and deeply moisturize; hero product of OSEA's seaweed lineup with uplifting grapefruit, lime, and cypress scent.
• Undaria Body Collection Curated set combining Cleansing Body Polish, Algae Body Wash, Collagen Body Lotion, and Algae Body Oil into a complete seaweed-powered body care routine.
• Seabiotic® Water Cream Hydration face cream featuring moisture barrier-replenishing Undaria seaweed and a prebiotic + seaweed + squalane complex; clinically proven to deliver 72 hours of hydration after one use, accepted by the National Eczema Association.
• Marine Screen SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen Daily mineral face sunscreen using non-nano zinc oxide for UVA/UVB protection combined with seaweed and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and soften skin.
• Hyaluronic Sea Serum Anti-aging moisture boost serum featuring Japanese Miru seaweed and plant-based amino acid betaine to replenish and balance the skin's moisture levels.
• Advanced Protection Cream Top anti-aging hydration cream formulated with bio-retinol, Undaria seaweed, and biomimetic lipids to nourish, firm, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles; National Eczema Association accepted.
• Ocean Eyes® Age-Defying Eye Serum Eye serum with peptides that reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and minimizes the look of undereye bags; Allure Best of Beauty 2022 award winner.
• Dream Night Cream with Bio-Retinol Overnight bio-retinol moisturizer that reduces the look of fine lines and wrinkles and visibly improves skin elasticity and firmness.
• Dream Night Serum with Bio-Retinol Wrinkle smoothing serum with bio-retinol derived from green microalgae that works overnight for visible improvement in crow's feet and fine lines (clinically shown: 100% visible improvement after one use).
• Vagus Nerve Collection Science-meets-wellness skincare collection of vagus nerve oils, bath oil, and pillow mist formulated for nervous system balance, relaxation, and stress relief.
• Subscribe & Save Program Recurring delivery subscription for 25+ eligible products offering 10% off every order, free shipping, early access to new products, exclusive deluxe samples, and fully flexible skip/cancel/edit cadence.
• Sea Rewards Loyalty Program Tiered loyalty program (Ripple, Current, Wave, Subscriber) awarding points for purchases, reviews, referrals, social follows, and birthdays; referrals earn 1,000 points ($10 value) on a friend's first $60+ order.
• Anti-Aging Body Balm Age-defying body balm with alaria esculenta seaweed that helps improve the appearance of skin elasticity, with passion fruit seed, coconut, and safflower seed oils.
• Ocean Cleanser Mineral marine, pH-balanced gel cleanser designed to unclog pores and provide mineral-rich hydration for normal and combination skin.
• Sea Minerals Mist Refreshing hydrating mist infused with aloe vera and a proprietary trio of seaweeds to deliver a hydration boost throughout the day.
• Venice Skincare Studio Treatments Physical skincare studio on Abbot Kinney in Venice, California offering signature OSEA facials, body treatments, and product retail, plus a glass recycling program offering store credits for returned empties.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of users showed significant improvement in moisturization and skin elasticity after 1 use of Undaria Algae Body Oil (independent third-party clinical study, 53 women)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• 4oceanflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026OSEA partnered with ocean cleanup company 4ocean and Benchmark Resorts & Hotels to launch Ocean Renewal spa treatments at select coastal resorts in Florida, Cape Cod, and Bermuda. Each treatment booked removes 25 pounds of plastic and trash from oceans, rivers, and coastlines. For every treatment booked through 2026, Benchmark contributes $25 to 4ocean. The partnership builds on an existing relationship that has already removed more than 10,000 pounds of plastic from global waterways since 2025.
• Benchmark Resorts & HotelsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026Benchmark Resorts & Hotels partnered with OSEA and 4ocean to offer Ocean Renewal spa treatments — the Ocean Renewal Facial and Ocean Renewal Body Ritual — at select coastal properties. These limited-edition treatments use sea-derived ingredients from OSEA while directly funding ocean restoration efforts through 4ocean. The treatments represent a core element of OSEA's brand positioning around ocean and climate responsibility.
• Pop Up MobminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 April 2026Pop Up Mob designed and produced nine separate brand booth experiences at Ulta Beauty World 2026 in Orlando on April 16, 2026, including OSEA's brand booth. Pop Up Mob managed nine simultaneous production tracks from concept through fabrication and on-site execution for a combined 30-by-30-foot booth footprint each. This was Pop Up Mob's second consecutive year producing for the event, which drew roughly 3,000 attendees.
• Grupo AxocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 September 2025OSEA entered Mexico through Ulta Beauty's partnership with Grupo Axo, representing the brand's first international retail distribution channel. This partnership is a direct result of the General Atlantic investment strategy to expand beyond North America. Mexico represents the initial step in OSEA's broader international retail expansion plans.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cocokind: Clean, sustainable skincare brand with a strong DTC and Sephora presence, similarly focused on gentle, clinically validated, naturally derived formulations. Comparable in brand ethos, channel mix, and target customer.
• Tower 28 Beauty: Clean, vegan beauty brand with strong Sephora distribution and a similar founder-led, ingredient-led, clinical-results-driven brand narrative. Comparable in channel and positioning to OSEA's face-care business.
• Saie: Clean, ingredient-driven beauty brand with a similar female-focused, sustainability-anchored positioning and major prestige retail distribution. Comparable in growth profile and brand-building approach.
• Youth To The People: Clean, vegan, superfood-ingredient skincare brand with a similar premium DTC + Sephora/Ulta distribution model and similar age demographic. Owned by L'Occitane, it is a close direct comparable on positioning, price points, and channel mix.
• Drunk Elephant: Clean, biocompatible skincare brand with a comparable premium positioning, active-ingredient story, and a mix of body and face products. Acquired by Shiseido for ~$845M, it represents the clean-beauty exit benchmark most relevant to OSEA's trajectory.
• Tatcha: Premium clean/natural skincare brand with a botanical/ingredient-led story, broad body and face assortment, and major retail distribution including Sephora and Ulta. Acquired by Unilever, it represents an institutional exit comparable to what OSEA's backers may target.
• Kosas: Clean color and skincare brand with a comparable founder-led, ingredient-led positioning and Sephora/Ulta distribution. Useful as a peer for benchmarking how OSEA-adjacent clean brands scale through prestige retail.
• Supergoop!: Clean, ingredient-led skincare brand with a strong sunscreen and skincare portfolio, distributed through Sephora, Ulta, and its own DTC site. PE-backed (BlackRock), it is a directly comparable clean-beauty brand at a similar scale and channel mix.

Broad incumbents

• The Honest Company: Larger clean, sustainably positioned consumer products company with personal care, beauty, and household SKUs. Useful as a broader incumbent benchmark for clean-beauty brand building, retail distribution, and category extension.

Emerging players

• Eminence Organic Skin Care: Natural, organic, biodynamic skincare brand with a strong spa-and-resort distribution model similar to OSEA's Benchmark/4ocean partnerships. Directly comparable on the spa channel and natural-ingredient positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@oseamalibu
• Xx.com/oseamalibu
• Facebookfacebook.com/oseamalibu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/osea-international

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OSEA